1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to event generation in a network system, and more specifically, relates to event generation in an on-line computer network.
2. Description of the Related Technology
Many different on-line networks are beginning to gain popularity with the general public. On-line networks such as Compuserve.RTM., Prodigy.RTM., America On-Line and the Microsoft.RTM. Network being accessed by increasing numbers of customers. In general, these networks offer news information, chat areas and email systems so that customers can communicate with each other.
On-line computer systems are becoming an integral part of many corporations' standard business practices. For example, a number of companies provide on-line technical support and information on their products and services. In addition, some companies now offer products and services which can be purchased electronically through computer systems such as the Internet. Naturally, the companies that support the networks must bill their customers for their services.
Generally, most businesses produce a bill at the end of every month that includes charges made during that month. These bills show an itemized breakdown of the charges for that month. Similarly, payment for products and services used on-line are normally either charged to the customer's credit card or billed to the customer. However, a statement detailing the charges is normally posted on-line, but not necessarily mailed to the customer. One of the challenges that has arisen from on-line purchasing is an accurate method of billing customers for their products and services.
One challenge of billing customers in an on-line network is the sheer volume of transactions that take place at any one time. Normally, customers are billed a standard monthly rate, and also charged for access to premium areas of the on-line network. In most cases, the on-line service provider charges a customer's credit card for the charges that have accrued in any month.
Customers can be billed for on-line charges that accrue while the customer is accessing the system. These charges accrue, for example, for every hour that the customer maintains a connection to an on-line network. A number of on-line systems such as Compuserve, America Online and the Internet can charge customers for every hour that they are connected to the network. In addition, these networks often offer services with "premium surcharges" which begin accruing when a customer accesses a specific area of the on-line network. For example, there may be an additional surcharge for accessing stock quotes or business news sections of the on-line network which is over and above the base subscription price the customer pays per hour to access the network. A formidable challenge in these on-line networks is the continuous update of billing information so that the charges can be viewed by the customer as they occur.
With potentially millions of users attaching to an on-line network, a billing system must be very efficient to properly charge the customer base while maintaining an up-to-date on-line statement of current charges. Some currently available on-line systems only update customer statements every twenty-four hours.
While complex billing systems for the UNIX operating system such as the Arbor Front-BP system from Kenan Technologies (Cambridge, Mass.) are available, they do not provide the sophistication necessary for billing millions of simultaneous on-line users in real time on a large network.
A system for interactive on-line electronic communications and processing of business transactions has been described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,799,156 to Shavit et al. Although a billing system for an on-line network is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,799,156, it does not describe methods of tracking the progress of millions of simultaneous users and providing a real-time, on-line statement for each customer's account. Thus, a need exists for a sophisticated billing system in an on-line network that can track the progress of a customer during an interactive session and provide real-time statements.